Farewell 2016, Hello 2017!

Ok, so I'm fashionably late to Yvonne's 2017 Planning Linky Party, but I'm here!

First, let's look back at 2016 which included several firsts for me...

Blog Hops

1.  My first blog hop was participating in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 13 blog hop with my first published block pattern, It All Adds Up.

2. I participated in the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop and was in The Sewcial Network hive hosted, again, by Yvonne.

3. Stepping out of my comfort zone, I committed to participate in the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop hosted by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

4. I also participted in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 14 blog hop with my block, Hexie Flower Basket.

Tutorials

On the tutorials tab you will find:

1. Blue Christmas, a machine applique pillow cover

2. Beautyberry Chervon, a 12" block created for the 2016 Cloud9 Blog Hop

3. Fussy Cutting Fabric for English Paper Piecing as part of the 100 Blocks Vol 14. Blog Hop

4. Vintage Lights Tablerunner from the Blue Christmas tutorial.

Published

1.  Positively Transparent appeared in Issue 5 of Simply Modern as part of an article on QuiltCon 2016.

2.  It All Adds Up in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 13

3.  Hexie Flower Basket in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 14

Online Swap

1.  Colorful Cats was made for the Rainbow Mini Swap (round 2) on Instagram.

Charity Projects

1.  A wholecloth baby quilt was made while practicing longarm quilting.

2.  Placemats were made for Meals on Wheels.

Finishes

See the gallery for finished quilts, blocks and other projects.

Guild Lectures and Teaching

I also taught a couple of workshops on machine applique and presented lectures on modern quilting to a few guilds with more scheduled in 2017.

While I didn't complete everything on my 2016 list, it was a productive year.

2017 Goals

I'm going to keep the list simple for 2017 and will remain flexible and open for opportunities that arise. 

1.  Complete a Quilt of Valor which is in progress

2.  Publish a pattern

3.  Participate in an international bee, Bee Inspired, with fellow new bloggers

4.  Review UFOs and pass along any I don't have the desire to complete

5.  Simplify my stash by purging any fabric that no longer suits my taste

6. And lastly, keep my Quilter's Planner close by to keep me straight!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive 2017!

Better at Binding by Machine

I recently finished two charity projects and sewed the bindings down by machine two different ways.  I am definitely getting more confient at machine binding now.

Binding First Sewn onto the Back

The first project is a small wholecloth baby quilt I made while trying out longarm quilting and posted here.  I intended for the floral to be the front of the quilt and the gingham plaid to be on the back.

Bias Binding sewn by machine

This was the first time I sewed the binding onto back of the quilt and then brought it to front to finish the topstitching.  And it was the the first time I tried sewing down bias bindng by machine.

The binding strips were cut 2 1/4" wide. I didn't want too much to fold over nor did I want to be short either.

I pinned the binding every 1 to 2 inches or so.  At the corners, I folded them where I would be sewing straight over the fold at the corner rather than against the fold. (Does that make sense?)  See if you tell by the photo what I mean.  The bottom was folded over first and then the left side folded over.

Binding pinned in place for machine sewing

I used my Clover seam ripper to gently nudge the binding in place before topstitching.  It has a rounded point and worked perfectly with the bias since it had more give then crossgrain binding.

Clover seam ripper used to nudge the fabric in place before sewing

Please excuse my well-used maching quilting gloves, but I usually wear them while sewing on bindng as they really help to manuver the quilt.

Wearing machine quilting gloves help to guide the quilt while sewing on binding

In the corners, I did back stitch once in each direction just to reinforce the seam with all the bulk and it is really not noticable.

Machine sewn bias binding

With this method of sewing the binding to back of the quilt first and then topstitching on the front, the bobbin thread or stitching line will be visible on the back of the quilt.  I was pleased with the binding width of 2 1/4" because after I sewed on the binding using a 1/4" seam allowance, the stitching line was an 1/8" or less from the edge.

Four corners of quilt after sewing binding down by machine

I just love the quilt all rolled up.  It was taken to my December guild meeting where it will be taken to Marys House, an emergency shelter providing temporary housing for women and their children fleeing domestic violance.

Binding First Sewn onto the Front

In the second method of sewing on binding by machine I first sewed the binding onto the front of the quilt and folded the binding to backside pinning in place.  But, instead of sewing the binding down from the back, I stitched in the ditch from the front.

Placemat made for recipient of Meals on Wheels

Here you can better see the where I stiched in the ditch from the front on these placemats made from a Susan Winget botanical fat quarter bundle received as a door prize.  My guild made over 300 placemats which were delivered in December to recipients of Meals on Wheels in Pickens County.

Placemats made for recipients of Meals on Wheels

By stitching in the ditch from the front, you are blindly stitching the binding to the backside.  Precise pinning is the key to nice topstitching on the back.  Two quilts I bound using this method are Free Ride, an appliqued elephant baby quilt and Sundae Plus, another baby quilt.

Backside of placemats after sewing down the binding by machine

I am happy to report that sewing the binding on this baby quilt completes my One Montly Goal for December and am linking up with Patty at Elm Street Quilts for December's link up.

And completing these placemats counts toward a finish for 2016 Q4 Finish-A-Long and will be linking to Q4 Finish-A-Long link-up.

Excited to get these charity projects finished by year end, I'm also linking to Finish It Up Friday, Finished or Not Firday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday and Show Off Saturday.

Best of 2016

Curating the Best of 2015 was definitely easier last year as I had only been blogging a month and focused on all of the the fun link parties in which I had participated.

This year, for 2016, I've picked a mixture of posts to share with you including a couple of firsts for me and favorites.

1. New Quilt Bloggers Introductory Post

I learned so much this about blogging and met new quilting friends by participating in a mentoring program, the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop.  I was in the The Sewcial Network hive hosted by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl.

In my intro post, I tell about my grandmother's influence and show her vintage pearl buttons which inspired my logo design.  And I tell about my favorite quilt, Grandmama's Legacy of Flowers, made in her memory.

Grandmama's Legacy of Flowers

    

2. Most Pageviews

It's hard to believe that the post with the most pageviews for 2016 is for something I spent the least amout of time creating.

I made the 1 Hour Basket at Sewtopia Atlanta in April 2016 under the direction of the pattern designer,  Kelly at KelbySews.

1 Hour Basket

3. First Published

I was excited to have a quilt block, It All Adds Up, published in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 13 in May 2016.  It was also my first blog hop in which to participate.

It All Adds Up published in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 13

4. First Tutorial

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict hosted the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop and I joined in to create a machine applique pillow cover tutorial, Blue Christmas.

Blue Christmas, a machine appliuqed pillow cover

5.  Favorite Finish of 2016

When looking back at finishes for this year, I decided on a quilt, Cursive, made for the Greenville MQG's Black, White and Pop of Color Challenge as my favorite.

Maybe it has a little something to do with the fact that Cursive was juried into QuiltCon East which will take place in Savannah in February 2017.

Cursive

I enjoyed looking back at 2016 posts and you can see everyone else's top 5 posts at the Best of 2016 Linky Party going now through January 2nd hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs.

Quilted Letters from Leftovers

After a recent quilt finish (hashtag secret sewing) there were long strips of excess batting and backing leftover after trimming.

Quilted fabric letters of the alphabet

What could I do with these leftover strips of batting and backing?  The backing fabric is the signature print (Prism) from Latifah Saafir's fabric line, Grafic, by Hoffman Fabrics.

Long strips of backing fabric after quilt was trimmed

I had the idea of making a quilted alphabet as a Christmas gift for a couple of little boys.  I pulled some solids which coordinated with the colors in the backing fabric.

Batting and solid fabrics for the fabric letters

Most quilted fabric alphabet tutorials call for printing 4" letters on card stock, cutting them out and using those as templates.  That seemed really time consuming so I went on a hunt for stencils.  I found these 4" die-cut letter a dollar store.  Although the edges were rounded, I wanted to give them a try and, after all, they were only a $1.

4" Die-cut letters and numbers

On the first letters, I traced around the letters using a water soluble fabric marker and squared off the rounded edges.

Letters traced using a water solable fabric marker

Since the drawn line needed to be the cutting line for the letters, I found it difficult to judge the spacing in order to quilt inside the line especially in the curves.

Letters after quilting

These are the first letters completed, not perfect by any means, but not bad.  I knew more vowels than consonants would be needed so the first letters I made were a set vowels plus a W or M.  I cut them out with pinking shears.

Quilted fabric letters

Things really sped up when I switched from a the fabric marker to a Frixion pen.  I could easily trace around the letters and even draw the quilting line rather quickly using a small ruler.  I just eyeballed marking a little less than 1/4" away from the outside line.  I just free handed the curves for a guideline.

Lines traced by using a Frixion pen

I found the most commonly used letters of the alphabet according to Oxford Dictionary and kept making letters.  Somehow I missed the T's, the second most common letter, and need to make a few more of those.

Quilted fabric letters of the alphabet

I hope two little boys will like their quilted alphabet.

They would need something to hold the quilted letters and decided to make an oversized zippered Becca bag.  I used a low volume print from Grafic for the lining and the largest zipper I had on hand, a 24" zipper.  It finished around 11" wide by 9" tall.

You can see more about the Becca bags I made here from C&S fabrics and here from MQG challenge fabric.

Becca bag made to hold all the quilted letters

I made a tab from the selvage which includes the year it was made.  A low loft batting, Thermore, was used giving the bag a little body.  I quilted just a few straight lines to sandwich the layers together.

Becca bag made from Grafic signature print by Hoffman Fabrics

The next time you have leftover fabric and batting strips at least 4" wide, remember they are perfect for making quilted fabric letters for little ones.

And one more tip...I suggest prewashing and drying the letters before gifting them.  With all the raw edges and cutting with the pinking shears, they were very linty.

Linking to Tips and Tutorials Tuesday #4, Let's Bee Social #156, Needle and Thread Thursday, Finished or Not Friday and Show Off Saturday.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day 2016

Welcome to Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day 2016!

I'm excited to be participating for the second time in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day 2016 in the Sewing + Craft supplies section.

This giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide.  The giveaway starts today, Wednesday, December 7th and runs through Sunday, December 11th and will close at 8pm EST. (The giveaway has ended and winner notified!  Thank you for entering!)

Littly Ruby jelly roll by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics

One lucky winner will received a jelly roll of Little Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics which includes 40 strips measuring 2 1/2" x 44". You will not be tempted to leave this jelly roll sitting on the shelf as it has already been opened in order to photograph.

Look at the beautiful small scale reds and aquas!

Little Ruby jelly roll strips in aqua and red

And the greens and whites are just as pretty!  

Little Ruby jelly roll strips in greens and whites

Giveaway Details:

1.  Leave a comment. (The giveaway has ended and winner notified!  Thank you for entering!) For a suggested topic...Are you planning to attend QuiltCon East, the Modern Quilt Guild's international conference and quilt show taking place in Savannah, GA in February 2017? If so, I hope to see you there!

2.  Followers, old and new alike, get an additional entry.  Leave a second comment letting me know how you subscribe. Some choices are Bloglovin', Email, or Instagram.

Be sure to include your email address if you are a no-reply blogger.  If I can not contact you, you can not win.

Normally, I love to reply to your comments, but during the giveaway, I may not be able to reply to each and everyone. 

Note:  If shipping is cost prohibitive, I reserve the right to provide a gift certificate of comparable value to a quilt shop in your area in lieu of shipping the giveaway to you.

Thank you for stopping by to enter the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway and I hope you will consider following along with me on this quilting journey!  In the gallery you will find my finished quilts here, quilted projects here and quilt blocks here.

Good Luck!

Longarm Quilting

Other than doodling at the quilt show, I had not tried to free-hand quilt on a longarm until now.  After Johellen Geoge quilted Navigating to Pluto for me, I expressed an interest in giving longarming a try and she agreed to show me the ropes on her Innova Quilting Machine.  I took a little over a yard of two different fabrics and basically quilted a wholecloth baby quilt.

I mostly quilted wavy lines back and forth but I did throw in a few leaves.  It took practice to stop, make a sharp point and reverse to create the vein in the leaf.

I also tried some waves like Johellen quilted on my quilt.  Those were a little challenging also.  This is one of the better ones.

And then there were loops.  It was difinitely easier for me to quilt from left to right as if I was writing.  The top and bottom loops in the below picture were quilted from left to right.

The loop on the far right was quilted right to left.  I was able to go into the loop nicely, but coming back out was a different story.

Here's two more loops going from right to left which are not so smooth.  And there's one going left to right which is pretty good.  It's much like quilting on a domestic machine...it takes practice!

The floral fabric is a Denyse Schmidt print for Fabric Traditions I found on clearance at JoAnn's.  The backing is Grand Revival from Darla by Tanya Whedan for FreeSpirit Fabrics.  I'm going to bind it in the pink gingham and cut the strips on the bias.

Wanting to make a quilt for a charity project for my local traditional guild, I'm going to make binding on this wholecloth quilt as my One Montly Goal for December, linking with Patty at Elm Street Quilts.  And I'll be linking to Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts with Lorna.

Air Mail from Australia and HSTs

Look what arrived all the way from Australia!  I was one of the lucky winners of Molli Sparkles Sunday Stash #200 celebration and received two Making Merry paper patterns of my choice from Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts.

 

With Christmas right around the corner, I thought maybe a pillow would be nice using her Garland pattern.  I used Alyce's tutorial for creating eight half square triangles at a time.

Rather than drawing the lines on the diagonal, I find it easier to use the Fons and Porter's Quarter Inch Seam Marker and a hera maker.  Since I needed 12 HSTs, I marked two squares.

Designer Solids by Free Spirt in Chartreuse

Rather than using just two fabrics, I used two squares of chartreuse and two different prints from Slow and Steady by Tula Pink for Free Spirit Fabrics.

Here's some of the HSTs after they were trimmed.  I wonder if I can get a pillow made before Christmas.

Half square triangles made for Garland

Linking to Sunday Stash #205 and Main Crush Monday.